Reviews for Jerusalem Architecture

The average rating for Jerusalem Architecture based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-08-12 00:00:00 William Frashet An architectural and cultural history of the mostly private swimming pool, from late 18th century to the mid-20th. Organized around case studies and key figures, most memorably Ludwig II and W.R. Hearst among others, van Leeuwen documents the culturally significant conceptions and constructions of bathing/swimming spaces and their meanings as status symbols, erotic sublimation, attempt at mastery, hydrophobic engagement with a threatening element, and so on. Van Leeuwen is especially fascinating when he reads the spatial vocabulary of pools for their cultural and sometimes psychological significance, for example, when indoor pools resemble churches or are actually built inside one, as in the case of Hearst's never-built pool inside the transported remains of a Cistercian monastery and a Soviet pool inside a German Protestant church. The overall narrative arc is a bit slack and some of the case studies are less compelling than others, but this is still a rich compendium and a very quirky meditation on the mania for water and pools in the US and Europe, accompanied by fascinating photographs and extensive footnotes and references for further exploration.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-05-22 00:00:00 Shawn Rust This book was one giant listcicle. The same small bits of information are presented over and over. I didn't really feel empowered to make any change... since I still don't know where to begin.